cunning

«cunning» in Mova's school dictionary: clever at tricking people or getting what you want, often… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 3 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

adjective (cunning, more cunning); noun (cunning — uncountable)

meaning for a pupil

1) Cunning means clever at tricking people or getting what you want, often in a sly or dishonest way. tree →

2) A cunning plan or idea is clever and well thought out. tree →

3) Cunning (noun) is the skill of tricking or deceiving people. tree →

4) (US, old informal) Cunning can mean cute: a cunning little puppy. tree →

sense in the lessons

In fairy tales and fables, the fox is cunning (it tricks the crow into dropping the cheese). In stories it can be a warning sign about a character or praise for a clever hero. Phrases: «a cunning plan», «as cunning as a fox», «use cunning».

examples

• The cunning fox tricked the crow into dropping her cheese. tree →
• I have a cunning plan to win the treasure hunt. tree →
• The thief used cunning to get past the guards. tree →
• Odysseus was famous for his cunning in the Trojan horse story. tree →
• The cunning cat waited until we left the kitchen. tree →
• Scammers can be very cunning, so never share your password. tree →
• Common sense is always worth more than cunning. tree →

note

Uncountable as a noun. Similar: sly, crafty, wily, clever. «Cunning» is not always bad: a hero can have a cunning plan.

In the corpora

• The captain of fifty, and the man of rank, and the counsellor, and the cunning charmer, and the skilful enchanter.
• Which hearkeneth not to the voice of charmers, or of the most cunning binder of spells.
• If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «cunning» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.